Into Music episode notes:
Juliana Hatfield returns with a sometimes dark, sometimes funny but always smart batch of songs informed by grief, aging, and a lifetime of questioning authority.
From the 13th Floor YouTube description:
The 13th Floor's Marty Duda spoke to Juliana Hatfield about making, Lightning Might Strike, a record that, "captures a period of change". Along the way we discuss the life changes that come with aging and the joys of R.E.M.
Kyle Meredith, for Consequence Podcasts:
Juliana Hatfield swung by to talk with Kyle Meredith about Lightning Might Strike, her 20th album and one of her most revealing yet. Written during a year that saw major loss, depression, and a move from her longtime city apartment to a quiet house in the woods, the record finds Hatfield turning personal rubble into power-pop gold. Listen to the episode above or wherever you get your podcasts.
Noah Schaffer, for wbur, with a premiere of Juliana’s new song:
Ultimately, Hatfield considers “Fall Apart” to be an optimistic song. “I do make a point to say I fall apart now and then. It's not that I have fallen apart and you can never put me back together,” she said. “I'm just talking about things that are real. Yes, I fall apart sometimes, but I get back on the horse. This is life.
Read more at:
https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/11/17/juliana-hatfield-fall-apart-song-premiere
Juliana has announced a new show: “An Evening With Juliana Hatfield: 'Lightning Might Strike’ Album Release” for Sunday December 14, 2025 at The Burren, Somerville, MA.
This is a 6pm early evening performance with provision for a 2nd show at 9pm depending on ticket sales.
Ticket link:
https://tickets.24hourmusic.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=313
Here’s Juliana’s new song Popsicle, the 2nd single from her forthcoming LP Lightning Might Strike:
Of the song, Juliana says:
Could ‘Popsicle’ take the prize for ‘feel-bad song of the winter’? It certainly doesn’t pull any punches in its description of mid-life disillusionment. But sonically I was going for fun and catchy, as ever. I love to take a simple, recognizable idea—the sweet frozen perennial summer treat, in this case—and use it as a symbol of all the dread in my head,
Juliana has announced Lightning Might Strike, her first album of original songs since 2021’s Blood. The release is scheduled for December 12, 2025 with a new single out today. Here’s Scratchers, featuring the album title’s in the lyrics:
Track List
Fall Apart
Long Slow Nervous Breakdown
Popsicle
My House Is Not My Dream House
Harmonizing With Myself
Scratchers
Constant Companion
Where Are You Now
Strong Too Long
Wouldn't Change Anything
Ashes
All I've Got
Artwork
Availability
Ordering info is at American Laundromat Records including the now customary vinyl colour variants, with CD and cassette options too.
https://www.alr-music.com/products/juliana-hatfield-lightning-might-strike
Juliana has written about the album:
It was a difficult time for me when I started working on this album. I had just uprooted myself from the city apartment building where I’d been living for twenty years to a house in a more rural town two hours away where I knew no one when one of my best friends died (“Ashes”), and then my dog died (“Constant Companion”), then my mother was diagnosed with esophagus cancer (“Scratchers”). I was pretty depressed for a solid year (“Long Slow Nervous Breakdown”) and lost and very lonely (“Harmonizing With Myself”). I was thinking about fate and circumstance and about how I’d ended up where I was (“Where Are You Now”).
However much or hard I try, it seems, I’ve never had much control over much in my life.
I should say here that my mother’s younger brother was struck and killed by lighting at the age of 16 and when I asked her how this affected her worldview, she told me that it made her believe that there is a predetermined plan for each of us.
(Read more on the American Laundromat ordering page)
Juliana’s official site has a new look too with some new photos at julianahatfield.com
American Laundromat Records:
We are excited to release "Made in China" on vinyl for the first time ever to celebrate its 20th Anniversary! This exclusive pressing is limited to 1,000 units and available in 3 vinyl color options. We also have a fantastic tee design available in 4 color options.
This 20th anniversary vinyl reissue is mastered for vinyl by Sean Glonek at SRG studios. Lacquers were cut by Scott Hull at Masterdisk, and all artwork by Aaron Tanner using a mix of artwork, painting, and photography by Juliana. Vinyl pressed at Gotta Groove in Cleveland, OH.
Shipping is anticipated for September 2025.
www.alr-music.com/collections/out-now/products/juliana-hatfield-made-in-china
New song and video from The Lemonheads featuring Juliana on backing vocals and J Mascis guitar solos.
The single is available now on streaming platforms and as a 12 inch vinyl in June 2025.
Update April 8, 2025:
Here’s the video of Juliana sharing early mixes of new tracks, as broadcast earlier today on Substack:
April 3, 2025:
Juliana has announced a livestream which you can watch on her Substack page this coming Tuesday.
Juliana has relaunched her subscription newsletter at Substack, now mostly paywalled:
Here, I will write about things inside, around and related to music: creativity, the business, the culture, the lifestyle, the people, the road, the songs, the mysteries, the feelings and reactions, the memories, the absurdities, the disappointments, the triumphs. Sometimes the music angle will be peripheral but always it is part of the essence.
I will post something at least once a month and sometimes twice, or five or maybe ten times, depending on how many ideas I have and how much energy. Thank you for listening.
Juliana’s 2018 tribute to Olivia Newton-John is going pink and purple. American Laundromat Records:
We are excited to announce a new pressing is in the works and will begin shipping in mid-June. Only 300 copies are being pressed on 2 exclusive vinyl colors, plus 25 custom one-offs from our friends at Burlington Record Plant.
www.alr-music.com/collections/vinyl/products/juliana-hatfield-sings-olivia-newton-john
American Laundromat Records, with a special announcement:
We are excited to release "How To Walk Away" on vinyl for the first time ever! This label-exclusive pressing is limited to 1,000 units and available in 3 vinyl color options.
We also have an exclusive seven-inch featuring "Not Enough" and "Back To Freedom," limited to 600 copies and available in 2 vinyl color options.
Shipping is planned for December 2024. All the ordering info is on ALR’s site:
www.alr-music.com/collections/out-now/products/juliana-hatfield-htwa
This was a landmark album for Juliana, and I’m thrilled to see it getting a vinyl edition.
Stoke your excitement by visiting the archive page here too, where there’s interviews and reviews galore from the original 2008 press kit and more:
Juliana Hatfield Three’s Dean Fisher has a new project called TINKERTOWN with an album American Gothic newly released.
American Laundromat Records:
TINKERTOWN began when multi-instrumentalist Dean Fisher and vocalist Gabriella Lawrence started writing together while playing with their other band, Ghosts and Shadows, a power pop and dark new wave band based in Arlington, MA.
The TINKERTOWN songs are a foray into different types of rock music, from glam, celtic and hard rock to Americana stylings like folk and vocal jazz. Dean has been playing in the Boston area for years, with Juliana Hatfield, Tanya Donelly, Dylan in the Movies and others. Along the way, he befriended and worked with musicians who have become the members of TINKERTOWN: keyboardist and accordionist Elizabeth Steen, bass player Joe McMahon and guitarist Russell Chudnofsky. Their collective resume includes Billy Bragg, Natalie Merchant, Lori McKenna, Tanya Donelly, Juliana Hatfield and Will Dailey. Since the recording of the debut album, American Gothic, Chris Anzalone has joined on drums. Before TINKERTOWN and Ghosts and Shadows, most of Gabriella’s musical experience was in classical music.
The album’s on the streamers and available in physical formats via American Laundromat Records:
There’s an interview with Dean at Fifteen Questions, and a podcast interview with postburnout .
Photo: Johnny Anguish / American Laundromat Records 2015
In addition to the shows opening for Soul Asylum, The Juliana Hatfield Three have announced 5 headline performances:
2024:
SEPT 25 / CLEVELAND, OH @ Grog
SEPT 26 / DETROIT, MI @ The Magic Bag
SEPT 27 / CHICAGO, IL @ Sleeping Village
NOV 2/ AMHERST, MA @ The Drake
NOV 3 / CAMBRIDGE, MA @ Sinclair
American Laundromat Records, announcing a slew of JH3 US dates for the fall of 2024:
The Juliana Hatfield Three will hit the road with Soul Asylum this fall to celebrate the 30th(ish) anniversary of their debut album Become What You Are. The trio will play the album in its entirety along with other songs from their catalog. The coast-to-coast tour begins September 30th at the Boulder Theater and wraps November 1st in Rutland, VT.
Update: There are now 5 JH3 headline shows that bookend the tour:
SEPT 25 / CLEVELAND, OH @ Grog
SEPT 26 / DETROIT, MI @ The Magic Bag
SEPT 27 / CHICAGO, IL @ Sleeping Village
NOV 2/ AMHERST, MA @ The Drake
NOV 3 / CAMBRIDGE, MA @ Sinclair
Opening for Soul Asylum:
SEP 30 / BOULDER, CO @ Boulder Theater
OCT 01 / SALT LAKE CITY, UT @ The Grand at The Complex
OCT 03 / SPOKANE, WA @ Spokane Live
OCT 05 / VANCOUVER, BC @ Vogue Theatre
OCT 06 / SEATTLE, WA @ Neptune Theatre
OCT 08 / PORTLAND, OR @ Revolution Hall
OCT 10 / SAN FRANCISCO, CA @ Regency Ballroom
OCT 11 / LOS ANGELES, CA @ Regent
OCT 12 / SAN DIEGO, CA @ House of Blues
OCT 13 / TUCSON, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
OCT 15 / EL PASO, TX @ Lowbrow Palace
OCT 16 / ODESSA, TX @ Ector Theatre
OCT 17 / AUSTIN, TX @ Mohawk
OCT 18 / OKLAHOMA CITY, OK @ Tower Theatre
OCT 20 / KANSAS CITY, MO @ The Truman
OCT 21 / ST. LOUIS, MO @ Delmar Hall
OCT 22 / COLUMBUS, OH @ Athenaeum Theatre
OCT 24 / PITTSBURGH, PA @ Mr. Small’s
OCT 25 / HOMER, NY @ Homer Center for the Arts
OCT 26 / NORWALK, CT @ District Music Hall
OCT 28 / PHILADELPHIA, PA @ Union Transfer
OCT 29 / NEW YORK, NY @ Webster Hall
OCT 31 / PORTLAND, ME @ State Theatre
NOV 01 / RUTLAND, VT @ Paramount Theatre
www.alr-music.com/blogs/news/juliana-hatfield-three-announces-fall-tour-with-soul-asylum
From last month, an episode of the Wheels Off with Rhett Miller podcast:
Singer-songwriter, musician, and indie rock icon Juliana Hatfield joins Rhett to discuss her creative process, the music she’s working on, and the balance between work and artistry. The two talk about trusting your instincts, allowing songs to develop naturally, and Juliana reflects on what her dream day job would be if she decided to do something other than music.
Last weekend saw the ‘Fort Nights’ celebration of Gary Smith’s life in Boston with events featuring many of artists who recorded at his Fort Apache studios. Juliana performed on Saturday night on a bill featuring Billy Bragg, Kristin Hersh, and many others.
Paul Robicheau has a review for The Arts Fuse:
If Hersh was a tough act to follow, rocker Hatfield benefited from the night’s introduction of the fine Fort Nights house band of drummer Chris Anzalone, bassist Ed Valauskas, guitarist Mike Oram, and keyboardist Elizabeth Steen.
Juliana’s set list:
Everybody Loves Me But You
Hole In My Life
I See You
Please Mister Please
Telephone Line
Sweet Is The Night
Out There
My Sister